Deep thoughts and silliness

This just looks cool, in the bizarre and silly way I think some science should be done:

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Here we go. The third edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People), the carnival of the good science blogging from the past couple of weeks.

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Last week was Vappu, when Finns celebrate the coming of Spring. They do this in the traditional way, of drinking too much and going for a picnic the following day. But spring is only just arriving. Although the temperatures have risen and the snow has (finally) melted, and we still waiting for summer to start.

The last of the snow, now gone.

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Yes, I still want your posts! we have a few, but not enough.

If you’ve written something about science, nature and medicine in the last couple of weeks, or if you’re read something about those subjects that you liked, submit it to the Scientia Pro Publica carnival. I’ll be hosting it here next Monday. You can use this automatic form to submit. The deadline for submissions is Sunday-ish (I intend to write most of it on Sunday, and hope I don’t get a flood of submissions after that).

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It’ll be here at this very blog next Monday… the third edition of Scientia Pro Publica (which is the Latin name for the “A PCR machine in every household” movement).

So, if you’ve written something about science, nature and medicine in the last couple of weeks, or if you’re read something about those subjects that you liked, submit it to the carnival! You can use this automatic form, or use this spiffy widget:

that N doesn’t recognise. Bum.
Anyway, make sure you include the URL or “permalink”, the essay title and 2-3 sentence summary. The latter helps me work out what the heck it’s all about. And, if I’m desperate, can be copied and pasted. ahem
If you want to see what previous issues of Scientia Pro Publica looked like, they are here and here.
I’m hoping for lots of stuff from Nature Network. This is a good opportunity to showcase ourselves to the rest of the world. So get writing, and remember to submit!

My recent wanderings around zoological museums has revealed an interest in the expressions of stuffed animals. This is terribly anthropogenic, but it’s Friday. So, here’s a stuffed animal. He seems terribly keen to communicate, but what’s he saying?

Scientia Pro Publica 2, The Science, Nature and Medicine Blog Carnival is up at Grrlscientist’s blog.

It’s filled with far too much good science writing for me to handle, so I’m going to run away and enjoy the sun. But if you’re reading this, you’ve obviously got worse weather, or you’re in need of deep psychological help. So go over there, and follow the links to read the other posts. It won’t help psychologically, but it’ll keep you out of mischief.

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I’ve been lax in not advertising this before, but there’s still a chance to submit your blog post to Scientia Pro Publica. There is even an automated form to do it.

I think submissions have to be in today, but if you see this too late, submit anyway. Hopefully you can still be squeezed in. And if not, you should be able to get into the next one.
I hope a lot of NN people can start to participate in this, as it is the only general science carnival running currently. We really should be trying to get ourselves known fr our science writing, and carnivals are a good way of doing this.

Grrlscientist is worried about a new bill going through the US Congress. The intent of the bill (H.R. 669: Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act) is laudable:

To prevent the introduction and establishment of nonnative wildlife species that negatively impact the economy, environment, or other animal species’ or human health, and for other purposes.

The Union of Concerned Scientists give a good overview of why such a bill is needed. The problem is that it the way the bill is set up, it has the potential to do much more, including quite a bit of harm.
Grrlscientist has mainly addressed the effects on the pet industry, and Mike Dunford has explained why he likes the bill. I want to (largely) concentrate on what the bill may mean for scientists.

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This is just something to get you thinking over the holiday, to make sure your brains don’t totally ossify. There is a specific reason for asking this: I want to relate it to a blog post I read last night. And, hey, you’ve got nothing better to do than think about phylogenetics whilst you’re digesting your chocolate, have you?

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